Take A Team -- An Out of the Shadows What If
by Erizabesu Miharu
Summary: 2k16 obviously. The Shredder told Karai to take a team to recover the ooze from police headquarters. So... WHERE was Karai when all the action was going on? My rabid imaginiation pondered this question and this snazzy one-shot is the result. Read, rate, review, whatever. Leo/Karai. Complete.


**I don't care what verse it is, I ship Leo and Karai so hard! And I won't lie, Pete Ploszek made one HOT Leo in 'Out of the Shadows'... I dare anyone to comment and disagree with me! And maybe Brittany Ishibashi wore too much make-up, but if she let her hair down, I could see it working.**

 **On that note, indulge in my fantasy! (If you think you hear squealing while you read, those are just the** **echoes of my enthusiasm vibrating out of your speakers.)**

 **Japanese Translations: Hachi Kata: the way of Eight... a series of pivoting based on the eight directions of the compass**

 **Kenjutsu: Japanese swordsmanship**

 **O Tanto: dagger-length Japanese sword**

 **Shuriken: throwing ninja star, a slender, single-point blade without the hilt in this instance**

Karai checked her blade, taking pride at being able to check her irises in its sheen. Her weapons were, in short, her life's work. Time, dedication, focus, control... the Shredder had provided her with these things and it was her privilege to pay it back, at the head of his army. The army he would use to rise and surround the city, forcing it to surrender to his control.

It was the same rant as all of the others, echoing off of the shores of Japan, where his empire was set in the same steel as her blades. Karai erected her head to the breeze crossing the night sky over the city. Her men were on a timeline and they had precisely three minutes left to exit police headquarters with the canister of ooze, synthesized from TCRI. She had stayed behind... waiting... watching...

Her finely honed ninja sense straightened her posture and she whirled, wakizashi tensed in her hand. Though she already knew who it was.

"Donnie." his voice ordered coolly, eyes fixated on her. "Get down there. See what's happening."

The turtle known as Donatello eyed her reluctantly, his judgement obvious. But he kept his thoughts to himself and descended from the roof. This left her and Leonardo; just like the tingling down her spine wanted.

"Technically, your errand girl stole that canister from us." Karai eased from the edge of the roof, rounding out the distance between them. "We have every right to take it back."

His sword gleamed off a light from across the street, coming up and over his head to make a fancy curve in the air in front of him. "Then, technically, you shouldn't have to steal it... right?"

Karai shrugged, her second wakizashi sliding out as she stepped to the left. "Technicalities... a petty formal point arising from a strict interpretation of the rules. Rules which do not adhere to the Shredder."

He surprised her with a snort. "How long's he been feeding you that line?"

Karai shook off the surprise and charged. Their swords met, sharpening their edges, sparking through the air between them. Karai drove Leonardo's hands down, snapping her right leg up to catch his chin with her heel. She hit pay dirt and pulled back- after slashing the shield that covered his leg thigh. She tightened her lip to keep from smirking as he flawed his jaw. "You'll find I don't topple as easy as the others."

"After our other twenty fights?" Leonardo repositioned himself. "I had an inkling."

He charged this time. Karai kept her Hachi Kata tight in order to keep up with his lightening attacks. How long had he been studying kenjutsu?

"If we were on the same side," Karai thought aloud, whirling her sword around to the hilt. "I would have much to ask you about your technique."

Leonardo blocked the jab she aimed at his side with the hilt. He gained two steps forward, but Karai drove him those two steps back.

"If we were on the same side," Leonardo barely managed to bend his neck back as she swiped with her o tanto. "I'd be brainwashed!"

A sharp front kick knocked the wind from Karai's stomach. She fell back, but attempted a roll to regain her footing. Her hair, loosened from her usual bun, blocked her peripheral or she would've seen him grab at her wrist. He twisted, getting her to release her wakizashi. Karai cried out, thrusting her o tango forward. He grabbed that as well and pushed back, until Karai felt brick to her back and she stared, panting before his unending blue eyes.

 _Stop thinking of them like that!_ Karai strained against his pressure, but he held fast. His size didn't make it much of a contest. She glared back into them... he was glaring, right?

"Finish me." Karai spat in his face. "But expect a full vengeance from my master."

"You wanna vouch for that?" Leonardo challenged her. He came in closer, his hold on her wrists lessening. "Is that why you show him so much loyalty? You think he'll remember you after you're gone?"

"You shall not judge Oroku Saki." Karai narrowed her eyes, allowing no weakness to show through. "You don't know what he's done..."

"But you do, Karai." Leonardo stopped her. "He found you in Tokyo, adopted you, gave you something to throw your dedication and loyalty into. Now all you want to do is prove yourself worthy of that chance he gave you."

Karai's heart pounded against her rib cage. "You don't know me, turtle."

"I know some things." Leonardo released her further. "I know that you're reluctant to follow through on Shredder's needless slaughters. I know you're behind yearly donations to the children's home in the Bronx. And... I know you look pretty with your hair down."

Karai would've flown her hands to her dangling strands if she'd been able. Rather, she set her teeth and gave no reply. Leonardo's traced her face a moment longer, then completely released his grip. "Do you even know who you are? Apart from there Shredder?"

"I-" Karai kept her hands at her sides, curling the fingers in. Where she kept her shuriken. "I don't need to be anyone else. Saki's given a purpose for my life. That's enough."

"Only if you let it be."

The metal tinged against the ridges of her skin. _What're you waiting for? A single point to the throat... throw it!_

"Leo!"

Karai started, heat rushing her cheeks. Leonardo didn't turn around, but she spotted the head of his brother peeking onto the roof. Was she... relieved?

"They need us down there." Donatello cried out, betraying his anxiety. "Now."

Leonardo still didn't turn from Karai. He only backed up, twisting his swords back into their sheaths. His eyes stayed on her... and they wouldn't shut up! Not even after he'd disappeared after his brother. Karai stepped up closer to the edge... she heard the glass of the front windows break and it sparked her brain back into working order. Her men would fail now... the Shredder would want to know how the turtles had even found out...

 _The Shredder._ Karai finally brought her hand up, touching her fallen hair tenderly. She did like wearing it down. But she never thought anyone would notice if she did.

 **THE END**

 **How'd you all like it? Wanted to be sure that you didn't forget about me! The next installment in my series will be up the first week of November, so hold on until then.**

 **If you're a first time reader, THANX for reading! Check out my profile, where you can find my first two stories 'How to Meet a Girl' and 'How to Treat a Girl'. You'll want to read them to get what's going on in my next story. Also, if anyone can think of better titles for my stories, let me know... I'm not feeling mine so much; not ninjestic enough or something.**


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